Full The New Harbour Cafe & Bar review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2014/03/the-new-harbour-cafe-bar.html

Located in Tanjong Pagar, The New Harbour Cafe & Bar serves a large variety of general Western food. Think Hawker style Western food with a Singapore / Asian flavour, but more upmarket. The biggest problem I have with The New Harbour Cafe & Bar is the inconsistency of both the food and service.
Ambience at The New Harbour Cafe & Bar is average. Think typical bar, dim lighting, functional but not so comfortable wooden furniture, and beer decor. The good thing about The New Harbour Cafe & Bar is they have quite a large indoor and outdoor seating area. Outdoor seating tends to be more popular, and the place can get pretty crowded.
Service at The New Harbour Cafe & Bar is sometimes good, sometimes bad. Non peak periods means the staff have more time to pay attention to you and food is served quickly. But peak periods can mean grumpy staff, long waiting times of more than 30 minutes, and poor food quality.
The New Harbour Cafe & Bar doesn't have a speciality cuisine, with the menu consisting of a mix of American, British, German and Asian flavours. Dishes are generally tasty with big portions, but similarly upmarket prices of hawker western food. I personally find The New Harbour Cafe & Bar to be poor value for money, and the food quality can be inconsistent as well.
The absolute best dish here might be the Fried Chicken Wings In A Basket, the perfect bar snack. Crisp, pipping hot chicken wings, juicy inside with meat that comes off the bone easily. The skin is crisp and fragrant, with a slight hint of spice. Excellent!The Pork Chop With Apple Sauce is bordering on good. Nice pork flavour, and the meat was cooked through. However, it was slightly dry, slightly tough, and slightly overseasoned. Worse, I experienced 3 small bone chips. Plus the potato wedges were rather hard and dry as well. While I loved the sweet Apple sauce, done perfectly in the British style, I won't be ordering this again.

Full Smoke House Charcoal BBQ review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2014/03/smoke-house-charcoal-bbq.html

While advertised as a Japanese charcoal grill barbecue restaurant, Smoke House Charcoal BBQ is more like a fusion Japanese and Korean place. An while the concept of purchasing your food directly from a mini supermarket and then cooking it yourself is a novel idea, the actual execution is lacking and rather flat.
Headlined by Japanese Master Chef Mr. Naoki Tsuzuki, Smoke House Charcoal BBQ is a retail and self-service BBQ. This means that the entrance is fronted by a mini-supermarket, displaying all their various cuts of meat, condiments, sauces, drinks, and more. Known for their wide variety of premium and rare cuts of Wagyu beef, including those not found anywhere else in Singapore, Smoke House Charcoal BBQ offers parts like beef chuck roll, flank steak, inner skirt, and even tongue.

Besides their 21 cuts of beef, Smoke House Charcoal BBQ also offers poultry (chicken and duck), fish, kurobuta pork, lamb, seafood, salads and more. There is also a wide variety of drinks, including wine, sake, umeshu, and a in-house shochu. Smoke House Charcoal BBQ also retails specialty charcoal and barbecue equipment, for you to prepare your own Japanese barbecue at home!
Smoke House Charcoal BBQ is self-service, meaning you order your food from the supermarket, pay at the cashier, then prepare it yourself. This concept also means Smoke House Charcoal BBQ is more expensive than other restaurants. Furthermore, there is also a SGD $10 dining charge for the free flow buffet, which is the worst deal I've ever had.

Ambience at Smoke House Charcoal BBQ is decent at best. There is sufficient ventilation to prevent smokiness, but cooking smell still lingers in the air. Lights are rather dim, but furniture is spacious and comfortable. The booths are slightly more comfortable than the stand alone tables and stools.

A scanty selection of 2 meats, 1 fish, 1 mushroom and 1 sausage, not even the premium beef cuts, already costs SGD $100 +. Without drinks. Poor value for money. As for taste, it's pretty decent.

SGD $10 gets you unlimited refills of rice, salads, soup and water. Again, poor value of money as these aren't very good, not fresh or well cooked. Overall, Smoke House Charcoal BBQ should be avoided, as your money is better spent elsewhere.

Founded in 2009, JPOT offers the best of Individual Hotpot dining, with 7 different soup bases, a clean and comfortable ambience, although much of their presentation is copied from other successful hotpot brands.

Ambience at JPOT is good, with bright lighting, well ventilated interior, and spacious furniture. Tables are set for individual hotpots, and their food presentation is styled after China Hai Di Lao Huo Guo. Ordering is done through tablets are each table.

JPOT is largely self-service, although food orders and bills are presented by staff. I also noticed that staff are quite efficient are clearing away empty / dirty plates. Otherwise, there isn't much interaction.

There is a good range and variety of food at JPOT. Besides the 7 varieties of soup base, there is almost 90 items on the menu, ranging from meat to seafood to vegetables and even dim sum. However, prices at JPOT are quite expensive, as it's not a buffet but ala-carte, amounting to about SGD $25 and above per person. And the quantity provided isn't much either.

Full JPOT review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2014/02/jpot.html

Full 2D1N Soju Bang review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2014/02/2d1n-soju-bang.html

Among the oldest Korean barbecue restaurants in Singapore, 2D1N Soju Bang is still going strong, offering authentic Korean food at really affordable prices. Notorious for their terrible ambience, 2D1N Soju Bang still manages to pull in the younger crowds, with queues of over an hour during peak periods.

2D1N Soju Bang is famously poorly ventilated. The buffet area upstairs is worst, with smells sticking to your clothes. 2D1N Soju Bang knows that not much can be done, because of its shophouse location, and thus offers Febreeze at the door. The ala-carte area downstairs is much nicer, and has some wall decorations. 2D1N Soju Bang is showing signs of aging, furniture is wearing down, and the place doesn't look sparkly clean.

Service at 2D1N Soju Bang is decent. There isn't much service at the buffet upstairs, as most of it is self-service, but tables are cleared quickly. The ala-carte area downstairs has some service, but it's rather average and functional, not memorable.

The cheap prices of food at 2D1N Soju Bang is the main draw, with ala-carte costing less than SGD $18 per person, and the buffet costing about SGD $20 ++ per person. Plus, the food is of above average quality; in particular, the meats are well marinated, and the vegetables are fresh. The selection of banchan side dishes is pretty varied. Good, tasty food, but the terrible ambience will make me think twice about visiting again.

Full Bonchon Chicken review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2014/01/bonchon-chicken.html

A South Korean fried chicken franchise that represents 'home', Bonchon Chicken is an international brand popular for, what else? It's finger licking, twice deep fried chicken that is coated in a special sauce that sticks to the meat, not to your fingers. This makes Bonchon Chicken unique, offering the least messy Korean fried chicken anywhere.

The open concept ambience at Bonchon Chicken makes the restaurant feel casual and airy, enhanced by natural lighting. Design is functional modern, with a tinge of industrial vibe of steel and wood. Decor uses a form of typography, highlighting characteristics of the food at Bonchon Chicken, including their famous fried chicken.

Service at Bonchon Chicken is casual, efficient, and orderly. Food practically flies out the kitchen, arriving very quickly at your table. Staff aren't much for conversation, but I like that they can advice on the menu items. Passable, but not memorable service.

Their famous fried chicken is offered in either wings (plus drumlets), or drumsticks. They also have an option for a combo of both. Personally, I find the wings to be slightly better than the drumsticks, as the bigger piece of meat on the drumsticks is sometimes inconsistent. Otherwise, their fried chicken has a nicely crisp, savoury skin, and the meat within is bordering on moist and dry.

Besides the fried chicken, Bonchon Chicken also does serve several traditional Korean mains and appetizers. I find the soups to be quite good! Oddly, Bonchon Chicken also offers several Japanese appetizers on their menu. Portions at Bonchon Chicken are suitable for small eaters, and pricing is among the most affordable for this type of Korean cuisine.